Bird place of the month,  Birds,  London,  Monday walks,  Nature and wildlife

A return to the Wetlands

May 13, 2025 / 59 Comments

Nothing in the world is quite as adorably lovely as a robin when he shows off – and they are nearly always doing it.

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Robins are the friendliest of our wild birds, or at least they are friendly to us. They are fiercely territorial and will aggressively defend their domain against other robins, but we invade it they seem positively pleased to see us. They have learned to follow gardeners, for instance, in anticipation of freshly dug-up worms to eat.

The little chap above joined us on a recent walk around the London Wetlands Centre. We were last there on a chilly November day and had resolved then to return in better weather. So last week saw us again meeting up with our friend to explore the centre in this very different season.  

Some of the residents

While most of the birds that winter here have long since flown further north for the summer, there were still plenty to be seen, enough to justify linking this to Georgina’s Bird Place of the Month as well as to Jo’s Monday Walks. Many of the species are resident here, a permanent collection of ducks and other water birds from various parts of the world. I only took a few photos in that area however, as I had so many from our last visit. One exception was the Cape Barren Goose who was preening by the water’s edge.

Cape Barren goose

And I couldn’t resist capturing some more shots of the cute Asian Short-clawed Otters when we went (again) to watch them being fed.

Asian Short-clawed Otters

One notable difference from our winter visit was the proliferation of beautiful flowers to be seen in various parts of the centre.

Around the wetlands

After a good lunch in the café we explored the south route which follows the wetlands proper. We spent some time in one of the hides with excellent views across the water to a small island. A pair of Canada Geese were shepherding their brood of five goslings along the water’s edge in search of food. And we were thrilled to spot a Northern Lapwing with its striking crest and iridescent feathers.

Canada Geese and Northern Lapwing

There were damselflies too; I believe these are a couple of Azure Damselflies and a Blue-tailed Damselfly.

Damselflies

It was near here that we met our friend the robin. And a final treat as we made our way back towards the entrance was the sighting of a Green Woodpecker on a side path, which lingered long enough for me to get a couple of shots.

European Green Woodpecker

I last visited the London Wetlands Centre in May 2025 when all these photos were taken

59 Comments

  • maristravels

    June 2, 2025 at 17:34 Reply

    The Geese and the Otters are surefire winners. What a lovely outing.
    I had your email somewhere but it’s not coming up for me so I’m sending you this link on the eruption on Mount Etna this morning (from the RTE website) as we were discussing of volcanoes just the other day. They can erupt suddenly. These people were very lucky, I think, and lucky that the drivers waited ten minutes to board them all. https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/0602/1516311-trinity-students-caught-in-mt-etna-eruption-amid-panic/

    • Sarah Wilkie

      June 2, 2025 at 19:49 Reply

      Thank you Mari – I saw that news on the BBC, including about the tourists. Amazing to think it was just a few days after we visited Sicily! And some of my friends flew there this morning from Malta so no doubt they will have photos to share! You can always reach me through the ‘contact me’ link under ‘about me’ on the menu above.

  • equinoxio21

    May 22, 2025 at 02:30 Reply

    Great shots. I wonder whether eh UK has managed to maintain more space devoted to nature? Less rampant urbanisation than elsewhere maybe?
    (Or are there buildings all around that you cropped out?)

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 22, 2025 at 08:22 Reply

      No buildings were cropped out in the making of these photos 😀 You can see some on the horizon in some areas of the centre, and at one point you can even see the Shard which is miles away! There are also regular planes going over as it’s not that far from Heathrow and in a flight path. But it nevertheless does feel surprisingly rural.

  • navasolanature

    May 20, 2025 at 23:37 Reply

    Thanks for linking and with my favourite bird place. I am amazed by the green woodpeckers but thinking back we used to get them at Minet Country park. Lots of “rus in urbis” in London which makes it such a wonderful mix of town and country. Without jetpack on this new device seems I need to keep logging in. I’ll get there. But resolution much improved so good to see your really sharp photos.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 21, 2025 at 10:46 Reply

      Thank you very much Georgina 🙂 I’m glad you managed to comment OK in the end, but it is frustrating for you to have to keep logging in! The woodpecker was a real surprise and a bonus for sure, although we’ve also seen them in Bushey Park which isn’t so very far from here.

  • Vicki

    May 16, 2025 at 03:26 Reply

    So many wonderful images to admire in this series. I love the wetlands and their bountiful subjects for photography. Whether it be insects, birds or flowers.

  • Annie Berger

    May 15, 2025 at 07:18 Reply

    Lucky you having the Wetlands Center nearby so you can pop in for a visit, Sarah. Fancy spotting a yellow-breasted robin or a green woodpecker – both new to me!

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 15, 2025 at 10:15 Reply

      Thank you Annie 🙂 The Wetlands Centre is quite near as the crow flies but the journey there is a bit awkward so we don’t go that often. The woodpecker was a real thrill to see. And although we see robins a lot (red-breasted by the way, we don’t get any other colour here!), this one was especially friendly 🙂

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 15, 2025 at 10:13 Reply

      That’s interesting – we have herons here too but I’ve not noticed the Canada Geese hiding their young, I see them quite often in our parks and by the Thames, where I also often see herons. Maybe it depends on the heron species?

  • Marilyn Armstrong

    May 14, 2025 at 23:03 Reply

    Wonderful pictures of birds and flowers! Your robin looks very different than ours. Ours is a type of thrush and eats only insects and suet. No seeds. We used to have an annual spring invasion of grubs and flocks of robins would show up and clean out every grub. It was amazing. It was so effective that we no longer GET grubs. We don’t see robins at our feeders much. They are wild feeders unless we grow a new crop of grubs. Nothing invites robins like yucky grubs.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 15, 2025 at 10:11 Reply

      Thank you Marilyn 😊 Our robins like grubs too – they often follow gardeners in the hopes that a worm will be dug up! But they eat seeds too, they’re really not fussy 🙂

  • thehungrytravellers.blog

    May 13, 2025 at 23:16 Reply

    Well that wasn’t a bad bird spotting day, was it! We’ve had robins nesting in the ivy on our house wall for several years now, we like to think it’s a descending family coming back to the same home 😊. Whenever I do any gardening, even just sweeping leaves, one of them joins me. Love your lapwing photo (we call them peewits in Derbyshire), not seen one for a while now, well not in England anyway. Great walk, great photos.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 14, 2025 at 08:48 Reply

      Thanks very much Phil 🙂 I reckon you could be right about your robin family generations – after all, they are very territorial! Yes, I’ve heard lapwings also called peewits – I don’t know if it’s a regional thing or just personal preference.

  • Suzanne

    May 13, 2025 at 21:26 Reply

    It seems we all have our unique Robin (toutouwai) which is also closely linked to the Tomtit and the Black Robin from the Chatham Islands. Wonderful bird shots, Sarah.

  • Egídio

    May 13, 2025 at 16:43 Reply

    Oh so many beautiful wildlife photos here. It’s a wonderful post to walk along with you around this nice place. The flowers added an extra touch of color to the gallery, too.

  • Easymalc

    May 13, 2025 at 16:12 Reply

    I wish my Robins had showed off this weekend, but that’s another story. I’ve never been around the Wetlands Centre to my shame because I love these sort of places. Once again, thanks for showing us a part of London that many visitors will miss out on their busy itinerary, but at least locals will have a taste of what lies outside the metropolis in the wild. Great pictures as usual Sarah 😊

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 13, 2025 at 16:58 Reply

      Thank you Malcolm 🙂 Yes, it’s mostly locals you see there, from school classes (there were two groups enjoying the otter feeding when we were there) to keen bird-watchers. Your Robins reference is understood and I sympathise.

  • restlessjo

    May 13, 2025 at 15:11 Reply

    Wetlands are lovely and you have just enough variety there, Sarah. Your photos are wonderful and there’s no doubt those otters are crowd pleasers. Thanks for sharing xx

  • Anne Sandler

    May 13, 2025 at 14:18 Reply

    What a lovely place to visit and thanks for taking us along. All your pictures are wonderful. I especially like the preening goose and green woodpeckers. And who could pass up those cute otters.

  • Rose

    May 13, 2025 at 14:16 Reply

    So many adorable photos of birds, babies, and blossoms. I have never seen a Cape Barren Goose, Northern Lapwing, or a European Green Woodpecker before, thanks for introducing us. 😊

  • wetanddustyroads

    May 13, 2025 at 13:20 Reply

    I know I’ve told you this so many times before, but the quality of your photos is truly exceptional. From birds to flowers and smaller details (and those stunning views in most other posts), it’s a joy to look at them!

  • margaret21

    May 13, 2025 at 09:32 Reply

    What a real rus in urbe time you had! My London lot say it’s hard to get to from theirs – what a shame. It’ll have to be visited sometime! I’d go for the otters …

Do share your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you! And please include your name in case WP marks you 'anonymous' - thank you